RS Components - Tweet Race

9533 Views 135 Replies 16 Participants Last post by Doug, Oct 17, 2012

Doug

Discussion Starter · Jul 19, 2012 (Edited by Moderator)

Enter your design for the world's first slot car race powered only by Twitter

We're looking for SlotForum members who think they'll be up for the challenge of designing a slotcar control system, that will use the power of Twitter, to race two cars on a Scalextric track.

There is an API available that must be used, but you must come up with the physical interface design.

There's a £150 RS Components spending spree up for grabs if your design is chosen.

The closing date for entries is 31st July and the launch of the public voting will be second week of August

On your marks...

Please email [email protected] for more details.

@RSCompnents

#RSTweetRace

How it will work:

Once the system is built and the track is ready, a Facebook page will be launched accompanying the Twitter campaign.

The Facebook page will let people register with their Twitter handle and state which car they will be voting for (either Red or Blue for example).

Then each time a user Tweets the correct hashtag (either #RSRed or #RSBlue) the car will move automatically.

For one week the amount of tweets for each car will be recorded, and then on the final day of the campaign a live stream will run showing the cars moving depending on the amount of Tweets each has received in that week. And then for the remainder of the day people can continue to Tweet using the correct hashtags and the cars will move in real time.

Get involved for a bit of fun. Perhaps the slowest slot race of all time, but perhaps the race with the most amount of participants !

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Erik M

· #61 · Aug 7, 2012

This look a bit as when Sun, I think it must have been, invited programmers to use their Java "real time API", or whatever they called it, to race computer controlled cars on a track. It failed as no one, as it seemed, entered. Might be because the only actual real time O/S out there is a pure DOS... Everything else is behind a virtual O/S firewall of happen stance things the O/S wants to do instead of keeping the signals of the slot race come through as they must.
And with Twitter as the "controller" it will be even further away from the minute response needed. The whole of the Internet further away...

But it can be done. But it is back to the famous video of Sterling Moss and his wife racing on an anno dazumal slottrack.

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Erik M

· #63 · Aug 7, 2012

Aint it wonderful, say so! To have me around set right wrong and left over.

But! As usual...

If the concept is to actually drive the slotcar by way of Twitter, then I have it right.
There's is no way actual real time adjustments can be done over any present "multi thread task bucket whatnot" and then add the internet.

Your, Rich, idea to use the SSD function for automation is the one solution, presently, that would work.
Problem would be that it is not utilizing the presented API...

But yes, I have not gone through the RoE (Rules of Engagement), so my words are only based on my experience.
But then again, I got a PC time management capable of a 1/100'000 sec resolution. Stable enough to guarantee 1/10'000 sec timing.
And unless there is a new internal PC clock this is as good as it gets. Unless I get paid to evolve it even further...

Ok, ok, I will check the RoE.

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Erik M

· #66 · Aug 7, 2012

I aim to lease...

And such a track is still in operation here in Gothenburg. At Liseberg, Sweden's number one amusement park.
(Or Fun Area as a long ago classmate managed to read that last social event you are... not at. But is.)
At least I think it still is, it was a few years since a got caught un-catching...

Sy ~ I presumed. And faultily. That it would. Be a race. With speeding cars. Getting their tickets. By way if internet. Triggers.

Chrisalmostfull ~ Bots are cheating...

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Erik M

· #78 · Aug 13, 2012

I made an U-table U-turn (submarine roundabout), U-tsling my previous experiences and the ones I am working with today.
With it I could stable the turnf (where you grow... green things) (for horses) for poor Sam and present something that might work... out for all in the end.
To be honest, we have been a bit harsh on the poor so... st... ehm... work experience trundling Sam.
Ok, I can't send this, it look as I am totally out of dried frog pills, and have been for a while...
...I just have to strike it, sad really, it looked quite good, in a not to serious way.

It looked as if Sam could use some suggestions etc. But first I stampeded with the rest of you...

...and then I put together a suggestion for him...

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Erik M

· #85 · Aug 14, 2012

The offer from Scalextric is grand indeed.
This would however go out as a webshow, right?

So there could be cameras around the track, showing the lead car etc.
Perhaps 1:24 would be better for that? They are bigger, thus demand less resolution to be seen.

That would however need either Carrera or Ninco track, for the wider width of the cars.

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Erik M

· #88 · Aug 14, 2012

So you have accomplished two of the objectives then?

You start out with BBB, brudar, bärs och bilar (broads, beer & ... well wheels I guess).
Then you end up with VVV, villa, Volvo, vovve (house, Volvo/Vauxhall, dog).

Welcome back in let us say twenty years!

I'm not sure the videogame analogue works thou. There are after all slotgrannies...

With which I mean to point out there are a wide range of what could be called slots.

You do however open one aspect here.
Part of what could go into this project could as well work in a pub.
Ie the secondary handle of the throttle.

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